OR, "I KNOW HOW TO USE GOOGLE!"
1. Crafting a search strategy will help you to articulate and re-articulate your research question.
2. A search strategy will save you time and energy.
3. A search strategy will make it easier for someone else to understand your research path.
4. A search strategy will help you to remain consistent in your search from one search tool to the next.
5. A search strategy will evolve as your research evolves, allowing you to reconsider how you might use the sources you discover along the way.
Photo: Paget, Sidney, illus. "The Naval Treaty." Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. London, George Newnes, 1905. 231. From The Hathi Trust: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015086842906?urlappend=%3Bseq=243
Throughout the research process, your search strategy will change as your information objectives change.
Early on in the research process, KEYWORD SEARCHING can allow you to discover the variety of sources available to you and the scope of the topic you're exploring.
Once you've defined a research question, SUBJECT SEARCHING can lead you to collections of resources in databases and library catalogs that are grouped by the subject they address.
And after you have found and selected resources you would like to explore more deeply, CITATION SEARCHING will allow you to track down the original sources of information used by the researchers you've chosen to work with.
Construct a search strategy
Test your search
Refine your search
Hints